Temporary Assistance

Overview

Temporary Assistance (TA) is temporary help for needy men, women and children. If you are unable to work, can’t find a job, or your job does not pay enough, TA may be able to help you pay for your expenses.

What are the two major Temporary Assistance programs?

Family Assistance (FA)

Family Assistance (FA) provides cash assistance to eligible needy families that include a minor child living with a parent (including families where both parents are in the household) or a caretaker relative. FA operates under federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) guidelines.

Under FA, eligible adults are limited to receiving benefits for a total of 60 months in their lifetime, including months of TANF-funded assistance granted in other states. Once this limit is reached, that adult and all members of his or her FA household are ineligible to receive any more FA benefits. The months need not be consecutive, but rather each individual month in which TANF-funded benefits are received is included in the lifetime count.

Parents and other adult relatives receiving FA, and who are determined to be able to work must comply with federal work requirements to receive FA benefits.

As a further condition of FA eligibility, each person who applies for or is receiving FA, is required to cooperate with state and local department of social services in efforts to locate any absent parent and obtain support payments and other payments or property. Non-cooperation without good cause could result in lower FA benefits.

Safety Net Assistance (SNA)

If you are not eligible for other assistance programs, you may be eligible for SNA. SNA is for:

Aliens who are eligible for temporary assistance, but who are not eligible for federal reimbursement

Recipients of SNA, who are determined to be able to work must also comply with work requirements to receive SNA benefits.

Generally, you can receive cash SNA for a maximum of two years in a lifetime. After that, if you are eligible for SNA, it is provided in non-cash form, such as a two party check or a voucher. In addition, non-cash SNA is provided for:

Families with an adult who has exceeded the 60 month lifetime time limit

Is there a limit on how long I can get TANF-Funded Temporary Assistance?

There is a 60-month limit on the receipt of Family Assistance benefits funded under the federal TANF program (the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADC) program), some Safety Net Assistance (SNA) or the Child Assistance Program (CAP). Additionally, a payment for regular maintenance needs under the Emergency Assistance to Families with Children (EAF) for the month of December 1996, or any month thereafter, are included in the 60-month count. Participants in CAP are also restricted to the 60-month lifetime limit.

Additionally, cash Temporary Assistance in New York State is limited to a cumulative period of 60 months for any adult. No cash assistance (FA or SNA) benefit is granted to a family that contains an adult who has received a combined total of 60-month benefits under FA or cash SNA.

What is an Emergency?

An emergency is an urgent need or situation that has to be taken care of right away. Some examples of an emergency are:

You are homeless

You have little or no food

Your landlord has told you that you must move or has given you eviction papers

You do not have fuel for heating in the cold weather period

Your utilities are shut-off or are about to be shut-off, or you have a 72-hour disconnect notice

You or someone in your family has been physically harmed , or threatened with violence by a partner, ex-partner or other household member

If you and/or your family are experiencing an emergency situation you may be eligible for emergency assistance. Some examples of emergency assistance include, but are not limited to:

Payment of shelter arrears

Payment of utility arrears

Payment of fuel and/or cost of fuel delivery

Payment of Domestic Violence Shelter costs

Payment of Temporary Housing (Hotel/Motel) costs

Payments may be authorized once you are determined to be eligible for one of the following emergency programs:

EAA - Emergency Assistance to Adults provides assistance for individuals and couples who have been determined eligible or are receiving SSI (Supplemental Security Income)

EAF - Emergency Assistance to Needy Families provides assistance to meet the temporary needs of pregnant women and families with at least one child under age 18, or under age 19 and regularly attending full time secondary school.

Note: Aliens who do not have documents that permit them to reside legally in the US are eligible only for certain kinds of emergency benefits.

You DO NOT have to be eligible for ongoing Temporary Assistance to receive Emergency Assistance.

How Do I Apply for Temporary Assistance?

To find out if you are eligible to receive Temporary Assistance, including help with an emergency, you need to file an application with your county Department of Social Services or, if you live in one of the five boroughs of New York City, with your local Job Center.

You must fill out the application form and file it at your local department of Social Services. You should identify any emergency needs you may have at this time. If you have an emergency, you will be interviewed and told in writing about the decision on your emergency the same day you apply.

For Temporary Assistance, your interview should be within seven working days of your filing an application. You should be told within 30 days of the date you filed your application if your application for Family Assistance is approved or denied; be told within 45 days of the date you filed your application for Safety Net Assistance if your application is approved or denied.

What Proof Will I Need to Provide to My Worker?

When you are applying for, or getting, help for yourself or for someone else, you will be asked to provide proof of certain things, such as those listed below. Your worker will tell you which of these things you must provide. If you bring proof with you when you first come in to apply for assistance, you may be able to get help sooner.

If you drop documentation off at your local department of social services, you should ask for a receipt to prove what documentation you left. The receipt should have your name, the specific documentation that you dropped off, the time, date, county name and the name of the social services worker who provided the receipt.

If you cannot get the proof you need, ask your worker to help you. If the local department of social services already has proof of the things that do not change, such as your social security number, you do not need to provide them again.

The documents listed above are the most commonly used. This list is not complete because there are other documents you can use.

Note: For most sources of income, Temporary Assistance workers must calculate your ongoing benefits using “gross” levels of earned income and unearned income, rather than what you may actually take home after mandatory or voluntary deductions or adjustments.

Sometimes your worker will ask you to explore the use of “community resources,” which may include your parents, other family members, friends, religious organizations, social organizations where you live, etc., that may meet your need or needs in lieu of, or in addition to, Temporary Assistance. If it is determined that these resources are available to you, you must explore and make use of all them to help meet your needs, including emergency needs, as a condition of eligibility for Temporary Assistance, or provide your worker with good cause for not doing so.

Nondiscrimination Statement

Discrimination by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) or by your local department of social services based on race religion, ethnic background, marital status, disability, sex, national origin, political belief or age is illegal.

If you think you have been discriminated against in a Temporary Assistance program, which includes Family Assistance and Safety Net Assistance, or that your case has been handled improperly due to some type of discrimination, you can file a complaint of discrimination, by writing to NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 40 N Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12243-0001 or calling 518-473-8555.